Lyndon Banes Johnson vision of "an America without Poverty didn't last long. LBJ was visionary. He wanted to help ALL Americans... then Vietnam materialized into a full blown war. The educated and the wealthy didn't necessarily send their boys to SE Asia. That may have been the taproot to it all.
Around that time I began dealing in antiques and old coins and clocks. It was a natural calling for me. Auctioneer Colby Johnson was my idol like Don Kent weatherman in Boson.
I DISTINCTLY RECALL SOME OF MY EARLIEST DEALING AS A BUDDING ENTREPRENEUR! My folks, Joe and Rita denied any dealings in forming my persona. LOL.. The funny thing is I tagged along with George L. Wakefield, an antique in his own right.. at a very tender age. I responded to American antiquity and the auction marketing method of selling.
Further, Mrs. Annie Wright, next door neighbor ,with a wooden privy and few teeth, doled out Valentines of the Victorian era and select antiques to her BOBBY. This further fostered my love and hobbies.
French Canadian Americans had too many diapers to change and mouths to feed to appreciate the finer things in life. My mom made an astute observation in visiting Paul And Sara Potvin at 11 South Main St. NB. 'On a Sunday afternoon all the rich people from Connecticut would drive into Mr. Wakefield's yard in their Cadillacs to peruse his antique offerings."
In August of 1951 auctioneer Colby Johnson held an on-site auction for my widowed grandmother. The records of this auction are in the North Brookfield Historical Society's Museum in a ledger I donated 20 years ago. The record is revealing. 10c bids were common.
Enter Paul R. Langevin, a New Braintree farmer and a Merchant Marine of WII. Old Langy, a high-roller, further added fuel to the fire of collecting. First, he held auction in the North Brookfield Town Hall auditorium where I worked as a runner in 1968.As "PR" grew rich I was the beneficiary of the ways of a "crude" man!
Langevin, the mariner, traveled to England, Scotland and Wales.. hired country-side pickers, and employed them to fill up containers which became shipped across the Pond to Boston. For years, Paul R. Langevin ruled the roost. His money and his brazen ways saw Benvenuti's antique home razed and an auction gallery built.. across from the Town Hall. He controlled the center of town with apartments in the Adams Bock and North Brookfield Realty. Langevin was a very clever man. I know as he taught me many tricks of buying and selling!
The markets grew in the Sixties forward to the nineties and beyond. In the nineties PR retired to Sun City West, AZ, yet still held auctions in "Brookfield.". He had a team of retired men preparing the furniture, etc. for auction. All along, I observed and learned both GOOD AND BAD!
As he grew older I grew in experience having sold many estates to "Raymond."
Auction houses around America employed Langevin's technique in Container trade. Me,? I specialized in On-site auctions in Worcester and Hampshire County. The Telegram called me "A New Breed of Auctioneer in a feature story appearing in the Fall of 1984!
As I grew, I invested in a trip to Kansas City for the Missouri Auction School program... 1981. Ben and Josh learned the chants of 'Betty Botter. LOL.
I further diversified in dealing in the precious metals of gold and silver. I had become of age at 40.
All along, more people began collecting.. as dealers and collectors. Sturbridge Antiques Shop opened and the business continued to grow. 'Smalls' replaced cumbersome furniture pieces in some case.
Fast forward to the present moment...I submit we are SATURATED. Functional furniture is now replaced with the newest and best at a high price. Memories of the 1980s are now collectible.. but for how long?The media and all of the advertising fuels desires! It seems we just can't get enough of the wrong thing!(Greed)
Personally, I am supremely organized in my personal life and living and am loving it! I own little. I have simplified my life and life-style!
LET THE SELLER BEWARE as I say:
GAME OVER!
ROBERT LOUIS POTVIN
ESTATE AUCTIONEER LICENSE AU2000
Box 11
West Brookfield, MA 01585
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